The Sun makes its way under the stars of Pisces on the 18th, easing the fixed Aquarian influence a little bit. Verbs are flowing all around us but they don’t seem to be doing much. Free Britney. Impeach Trump. Cancel Rent. You get the idea. We might find ourselves figuring out new ways to relate to the state of things, or at least finding better and more delightful ways to cope with what’s on fire. Mercury stations direct on the 20th moving through a shadow period that’s sure to have us dealing with the same things yet again, but with a renewed sense of perspective — and a further depleted well of energy. Who said you can put yourself on cruise control? Whatever it is that you believe in is probably more than happy to take the wheel.
If your antennae are picking up some stray signals this week, dear Aries, don’t be alarmed. They may not be as stray as they first appear. Perhaps you’ve spent a good deal of time this month gathering the obvious information, staying vigilant, and keeping watch over our late-stage capitalist hell-mouth. What might have started as a drive to know and catalogue wants to transform into something more. This week is an auspicious one for looking at the materials in front of you and attending to them as a code-breaker might, or an alchemist. I’m not talking about invisible ink or some sort of Nancy Drew mystery. I’m talking about you, dear Aries, and your keen perception of what IS. With or without a magnifying glass, you have the tools to recognize the patterns around you and their deeper implications.
As Mercury stations direct this week, you might find yourself with more than a few opportunities to, as Cardi B might intimate, make money move. The work and time spent doing it can seem like a substitute for being social, for being in community. But, ultimately, it can’t be. The truth is, you know what will and won’t sustain you socially. You know that your longing for connection won’t be sated by staying busy, nor will you be satisfied by surface-level engagements for long. It’s a challenging time, dear Taurus, there’s no need layer it with the hurdles and pitfalls of trying to convert new sparks into enduring flames. While you’re likely to find a common language with whomever you engage, you’ll find that this week has a lot more to offer when you reach for what’s tried and true. Nourish what nourishes you back.
Would you believe it, Gemini? It’s time for yet another radical shift of perspective. No one needs to tell you twice, but — for good measure — here’s a reminder that the less you avoid the insights that keep bubbling to the surface, the more likely you are to actually benefit from them. Who’s afraid of a little feeling, anyway? What’s it gonna do that it hasn’t already done? This week, go ahead and give your intuition a chance by letting those trains of thought pull all the way into the station. Try writing it all down and keep writing a little longer than you think you need to. When something comes up that feels a little on the wild side — or totally far-fetched — don’t discount yourself as easily as you otherwise might. If you get to thinking that there’s more than meets the eye, you’re right.
Let me let you in on a little phrase I picked up in a Women’s Studies class a long time ago in a land far, far away: The personal is political. You’ve heard it before, but have you considered its implication? It’s a phrase over which famous feminists have denied ownership, because they claim it belongs to the greater movement. It seeks to undermine the systems that separate our experiences of our lives from the structures that create those experiences. And, consequently, it’s a way of dismantling that separation. Cancer, this week, when you start to question if you’re meant to be who you are and what you are, if you find yourself feeling small and separate from the collective, ask yourself: Who benefits? Remember ye olde rallying call — and rally.
You don’t have to choose if you don’t want to, dear Leo, between purpose and companionship. You can figure out what your position should be in the larger world, and nurture your smaller, intimate world. Intimacy, accompaniment, collaboration, and sweetness are not the price you pay for what some might deem as accomplishment. Besides, you know that accomplishment is sweeter when you get to celebrate it with those you love and trust. This week, when you poke your head out of the hill made of your labor and research and get overwhelmed, try to remind yourself that you don’t need to make your loved ones proud with what you do. They’re already proud of who you are.
You know how they say, "Let go or be dragged”? Well, is it a drag that you’re facing this week, Virgo, or have you loosened your grip? Whatever your predicament, the good news is that it’s bound to change, as all things are. And, speaking of all things changing, now is as good a time as ever to remind you that while we live in a culture that demands we claim who we are and laminate the label, the reality of our lives is a far cry from that practice. You don’t have to know who you are or what you want or how you want it from the get-go, and you certainly don’t have to confine yourself to choices you made over a decade ago. Besides, there are options now that weren’t available yet because they weren’t known — and there are parts of you that weren’t known either. Bid hello to the newer selves you harbor, let them have a turn at the wheel.
It’s not true what they say about Libras and their desires. Libras are driven by what they want, they imagine it first and then they go after it with a strategic elegance that is not unlike a fox leaping high into the air and diving nose first into the ice. The deal is, a Libra won’t dive, and they certainly won’t dive on anyone’s watch, if there’s no sure sign that a warm live thing stirs beneath that ice. Libras are protective of their expectations and they’d rather keep them private than have them thwarted. If this week finds you unable to go after what you want because nothing seems like a sure bet, try to remember there are other ways to get what you need and other animals that know things you don’t. The direct route is shorter than it feels, Libra — ask for what you need.
Of course, your relationship to relationships is changing, whose isn’t? Some people haven’t touched another human being in almost a year. On a collective level, we’ve been called to redefine intimacy and set stakes around it. It’s not safe to be close unless you’re very, very sure. You, dear Scorpio, might have been carrying that sort of belief for much longer than a world-wide pandemic… which is why the stakes keep getting a little muddy. While many are grappling with what kind of closeness they can afford in this contemporary moment, you are re-learning what closeness means to you and what it can no longer mean. This kind of wandering in the dark is a long-term influence — but this week brings a lot of your hard-learned lessons into question. Trust what you know to be true, not what you wish could be.
Negative punishment doesn’t work. It doesn’t work with children and it doesn’t work with animals. Why, then, is it so tempting to make ourselves feel worse when we already feel bad? What lessons can we possibly pull out of the cone of shame? As an adult, a person in charge of your own upbringing — which is continuous — you get to decide what kind of reinforcement you need to thrive. This week, try being your own clicker-trainer, your own treat-giver. If you’re in a slump, work backwards. Write a list of the activities that make you feel good, strong, and proud of yourself. Every time you feel down, reach for the list and reward yourself with one of those activities.
Most Capricorns have a little (or a lot) saved for a rainy day. Most likely, what’s saved is money in the bank, but, occasionally, what a Capricorn saves up is the fucks they’ve got left to give in case an occasion comes along for some powerful spending. Listen, the night in nigh, dear sea goat. The future is as open as the gates of hell and twice as dark, so why not put it all down? Buy the thing you’ve been waiting to find a good deal on, plan to (safely and responsibly) see about that cutie you matched with, email that pitch, call in the favor. Bet on yourself and the radical possibilities of your own pleasure, babe. Only the present is guaranteed (if that), so why not enhance it?
You know, coping mechanisms work for a reason, it’s right there in the name. And, there’s no use getting down on yourself when you reach for them, why wouldn’t you reach for what you know works to help you deal with something that feels like it won’t? Getting down on yourself is probably part of the process anyway. ¡Un ciclo terrible! What do you think would happen, Aquarius, if you changed up the pattern and added something to the cycle consciously? Like, out-loud acknowledging your reliance and recognizing it for the space it takes up in your life rather than letting it take the wheel silently? You don’t have to give anything up, but the more you claim what you do and what it means to you, the more aware you become about what else is available.
It’s hard to admit when what we get isn’t ultimately what we want. Hard to recognize how much time and energy we spend making a deal and saying, “yes, without a doubt,” only to come to find that there are, in fact, doubts. It’s your prerogative to change your mind (and uh, you don’t need permission to make your own decisions), but, Pisces, you know that once you’ve made a choice, you’re already well on your way, sometimes never to be heard from again. The trouble isn’t agency, it’s acceptance. This week, if you find yourself struggling to want what you wished for, remember that no one benefits from your obligation. Not in the long run, anyway. Go ahead and skip right to the part where you go about your merry way to something that actually makes you merry.
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